The Mark of Bellona
by readingqueen811
Summary: The first chapter of the Mark of Athena from Reyna's Point of View. It only seems fitting that Annabeth's Roman counterpart should get her own chapter... especially since there won't be one in the book. Read and Review!


**REYNA**

**UNTIL SHE SAW THE GREEKS' WARSHIP,** Reyna thought she was prepared for anything.

She'd paced around the front of the crowded forum, checking and double checking that Perseus was sure the Greeks weren't hostile. She confirmed with Octavian the (probably more than slightly biased) augury. She reviewed the plan inside her head, and the backup plan, and the backup plan to the backup plan.

Most important, she pulled aside their cool aide-drunk centurion, Dakota, and encouraged him to sit on a bench in the back of the crowd. The last thing they needed as they met new (possible) allies was a hyper centurion running around with a permanent red stain on both his mouth and toga.

Everything seemed to be in order. Even the ominous feeling she'd had since Perseus announced he was Greek had dissipated, at least for now.

The warship descended through the clouds, but Reyna couldn't stop second guessing herself. What if this was a bad idea? What if the Greeks attacked them on sight and it was all just a carefully planned ambush like Octavian thought it was?

The warship definitely did not look friendly. Two hundred feet long, with a bronze -plated hull mounted repeating crossbows fore and aft, a flaming metal dragon for a figurehead, and two rotating ballistae amidships that could fire explosive bolts powerful enough to blast through concrete… well, it wasn't the most appropriate for an alliance discussion with the twelfth legion.

The Greeks _had_ seemed to try to give them a heads-up. Perseus had showed her a holographic scroll that (she guessed) was to alert them that the Greeks were arriving. Octavian had wanted to impale every Greek on sight, but Reyna wasn't sure that would move the alliance along.

Too late to turn back now.

The clouds broke around the hull of the warship, revealing a solitary figure, a pretty blonde, gripping one of the shields that lined the railing. Then three accomplices were visible.

On the stern quarterdeck, the guy from the holographic scroll rushed around like a madman. Reyna wasn't sure what he was doing, but he made her nervous…he seemed seriously ADHD.

A pretty brunette girl with choppy hair paced back and forth between the mainmast and the ballistae, her lips fervently moving. Reyna wasn't sure what she was saying, but she made her nervous… she seemed to be putting the blonde in the trance.

The brunette looked like she was trying to play down her beauty. She was dressed in tattered jeans, worn out sneakers, and a white tank top with pink _Hello Kitty_ designs. (Maybe as a joke, though Reyna couldn't be sure). Her choppy hair was braided down the right side with an eagle's feather.

Then there was Jason. He stood on the bow on the raised crossbow platform, where Reyna could easily spot him. He was gripping the hilt of his golden sword that Reyna didn't remember him having. What happened to his coin? Otherwise, he looked calm for a guy who was obviously making himself a target. Over his jeans and orange t-shirt (it looked like the one Perseus had come to camp in), he donned a toga and a purple cloak, symbols of his old job as praetor. With his wind-ruffled blonde hair and his icy blue eyes, he looked ruggedly handsome and in control-just like a son of Jupiter should.

He'd grown up at Camp Jupiter, so his familiar face was making a ripple of whispers go through the crowd of Romans.

Reyna could see that the blonde was trying to hide it, but it seemed that she didn't completely trust him. Reyna wasn't sure whether to like the girl's precaution, or feel insulted: Jason was perfect-always following the rules, always doing the honorable thing. He even _looked_ perfect. In the back of her mind she had a nagging thought: What if he came into Camp Jupiter and said, _Hey Romans, meet my new girlfriend! I just remembered you guys now. What's the name of this place again? By the way, we're going to attack you in five…four…three…two…one! _

Reyna doubted that would happen. Still, she couldn't look at the rest of his accomplices without getting a bitter taste in her mouth. He'd been part of Juno's forced "exchange program" to introduce the two camps. Her Majesty, Queen of Olympus, had convinced the other gods that two sets of children-Roman and Greek-had to combine forces to save the world from the evil goddess, Terra, who was awakening from the earth, and her horrible children the giants.

Without warning, Juno had plucked up Jason Grace, Reyna's fellow praetor and could-have-been-boyfriend, wiped his memory, and sent him to the Greek camp. In exchange, the Romans had gotten Perseus. None of that was Perseus' fault; but every time she saw him, she remembered how much she missed Jason.

Jason…who was above them right now.

_Oh gods_. Panic welled up inside her. She forced it down. She couldn't afford to get overwhelmed.

_I am a child of Bellona_. She told herself. _I have to stick to the plan and not get distracted._

She felt it again-the pains of reminiscence, as if someone had taken a rusty nail and jabbed it into her heart. She wanted to tell her conscious to shut up, but she was afraid that would look weird.

Must be her nerves. Even in a world of gods and monsters, Reyna couldn't believe that she was acting so _feely_. Her composure was well practiced, always firm, always right, it couldn't fail her now.

Reyna wished she could pray to her mother for guidance, but that wasn't possible now. Not after December, when Olympus had closed and Reyna had been left on her own.

The feeling of dread pressed closer. She thought she heard Octavian faintly pushing her feelings along. Every muscle in her body tensed. Something was about to go terribly wrong.

She almost ordered them to fire. Instead, she sounded the horns, signaling the Greeks that they had spotted them.

Reyna wanted them to land before her feelings of dread got the better of her, but the ship was still several hundred feet above. She scanned the air, looking for one of the statues of Terminus.

Then something above her went _BOOM!_

The explosion almost made her jump. She watched as the blonde whirled around, and found herself eye to eye with an angry statue.

"Unacceptable!" Terminus shrieked.

He had exploded into existence right there on the deck. Sulfurous yellow smoke billowed from the railings and was visible from the ground below. From the waist down, he was nothing but a square marble pedestal. From the waist up, he was a muscular human figure in a carved toga.

"I will _not_ have weapons inside the Pomerian Line!" He announced, the sound echoing to the valley where Reyna was watching. "I _certainly_ will not have Greeks!" Reyna breathed a sigh of relief, at least Percy had been truthful about _something_.

Jason's mouth moved, but he wasn't as loud as Terminus, so Reyna couldn't hear what he was saying.

"Oh," I remember _you_, Jason!" Terminus grumbled. "I thought you had better sense than to consort with the enemies of Rome!"

Jason said something, and then the brunette at his side said something… that Terminus wasn't too happy about.

"Ha!" snapped the statue. "Don't try that charmspeak on _me_, young lady. And put that dagger down before I slap it out of your hands!" _Charmspeak_. Reyna remembered that from Circe's island… if the brunette could do it, that would be serious trouble; she agreed with Terminus.

The brunette's mouth moved, and Reyna was almost sure what she was saying; this next part was going to be hilarious!

"Impertinence!" There was a sharp _POP_ and a flash of yellow. The brunette yelped and dropped her dagger. Reyna smiled to herself.

"Lucky for you I've just been through a battle," Terminus announced. "If I were at full strength, I would've blasted this flying monstrosity out of the sky already!"

The elf guy stepped forward, obviously angry, maybe it was _his_ ship.

The blonde raised her hands to show she had no weapons. _She_ at least had some sense.

"Oh, I know who _you_ are!" The statue glared at her with its blank white eyes. "A child of _Athena_, Minerva's Greek form. Scandalous! You Greeks have no sense of decency. We Romans know the proper place for _that_ goddess."

A child of Athena? But she was a virgin goddess. This was obviously the blonde who'd destroyed her home, and Reyna was just as confused as she was the day Circe said those same words. Of course, the Romans _did_ prize Minerva more rightly; she was the impersonation of creation.

The blonde glared at Terminus and clenched her jaw. She obviously was offended by what she didn't know.

Jason cut her off, but those words didn't seem to make Terminus too happy either…oh Jason.

"Impossible!" The god squeaked. "Lay down your weapons and surrender! Leave my city immediately.

The elf said something impertinent.

"Both!" Terminus said. "Surrender, then leave. I am slapping your face for asking such a stupid question, you ridiculous boy! Do you feel that?"

The elf then proceeded to tap Terminus with a screwdriver as if he was trying to take him apart or something. Reyna's composure stayed calm, but inside she was cracking up, maybe the Greeks weren't so bad after all; just little innocent butterflies that couldn't hurt anything.

"Stop that!" Terminus insisted. Another small explosion made the elf drop his screwdriver. "Weapons are _not_ allowed on Roman soil inside the Pomerian Line."

The brunette said something, and Jason replied. Reyna could feel her fists clench with jealousy.

"And this entire ship is a weapon!" Terminus said. "You _cannot_ land!"

The crowd in the forum was over a hundred strong now. The blonde on the ship was gazing the faces of the Romans, she jumped a little when she saw Perseus, who had his arms around Frank and Hazel like they were best buddies.

The ship froze in midair. The blonde said something. Terminus frowned. "Well, no…"

The blonde seemed to be reasoning with Terminus, something that was almost impossible. Terminus seemed to ponder whatever she was saying.

"I like technicalities," he admitted. "Still…"

The blonde waved her arms around like she was talking about the Roman forces that were below her.

"Of course!" Terminus said. "Do I look like I tolerate rule breakers?"

The elf said something. The blonde clenched her fists. Reyna still felt a sense of dread, and some faint laughter, Octavian was delighted by the fact that Terminus had blasted the ship more than once. The blonde said something in reply to the elf, then she turned to Terminus and asked something.

Terminus sniffed. "I suppose. For now. You may climb down your ladder to New Rome, daughter of Athena. _Please_ try not to destroy my town."

And with that, a rope ladder dropped down about twenty feet until it reached the ground of the forum… this day was either going to take a turn in a wonderful or chaotic direction, Reyna just hoped it was the first option.s


End file.
